Orioles add Jonathan Schoop and Mike Belfiore to 40-man roster

In preparation for setting their roster before December’s Rule 5 draft, the Orioles added two players to their 40-man roster on Tuesday, infielder Jonathan Schoop and left-hander Mike Belfiore.

To make room, the Orioles took pitcher Oliver Drake off the roster and outrighted him to Triple-A Norfolk.

Schoop, 21, was the organization’s 2011 minor league player of the year and held his own at Double-A Bowie (.245 average and .324 on-base percentage) in 2012 despite being one of the youngest players at that level. He also hit .270 in the Arizona Fall League this year and was selected to the league’s all-star game.

Belfiore, 24, also was named to the AFL’s Rising Stars game this fall after posting a 4.28 ERA in 12 games. In 28 relief outings for Double-A Bowie in 2012, he was 5-1 with a 2.85 ERA. A former first round supplemental pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009, the Orioles acquired Belfiore this year in a trade with Arizona for infielder Josh Bell.

Drake, a 25-year-old Navy product was limited to just three games at Bowie this year because of a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Several of the more notable Orioles’ minor leaguers that will be exposed to the Rule 5 draft include catchers Brian Ward and Caleb Joseph, pitchers Bobby Bundy and Tim Bascom and hitters Brandon Waring, Ty Kelly, Robbie Widlansky and Ronnie Welty.

If any of those players are selected in next month’s draft, they would have to stay on the selecting team’s 25-man big league roster all season or would have to be offered back to the Orioles.